Juke Baritone and The Swamp Dogs underscore life with their bent mix of music
¨It´s The Muppets having a punch on with Captain Beefheart…or like Tom Waits…on acid!¨
Juke Baritone and The Swamp Dogs underscore life with their bent mix of music, theatre and cabaret that’s shaken and
stirred into a dark cocktail of trapeze punk and pirate blues mayhem that has audiences prostrating themselves for more.
Like a drifter or a fugitive, Juke’s growling songs about love and life are dished out by his raucous ensemble on the
bacchanalian dinner table of his wild cellar bar.
There’s a dirty sound reminiscent of a Louisiana gravel road coming from the organ and a tormented reverend is at the
helm whipping his flock into a naked frenzy. He is laughing psychotically as he leads them through the dark and dirty
corridors of hell… Welcome to the church of Juke Baritone. Where raising hell has never been so much fun.
“People just lap it up.” says Juke, “I’m always surprised by the diversity in the crowd…apparently we cross some great
divide in music where we’ve got heavy metal dudes screaming next to swing dancers next to gay couples, indie kids and
hip hop heads…and they all love it. Seriously. It looks like the Star Wars bar out there.”
Not for the faint of heart, this intoxicating show has the tendency to turn ordinary people into raving fans and make others
walk out in disgust as musical categories are bled to death on the dance floor.
Juke has been described as chaotic, maniacal and absolutely, comprehensively in your face… but don’t be fooled. While
it may sound like a genre clashing brand of drinking songs to the point that it’s an absolute disadvantage to be sober or
seated…there’s a real message within the music.
Festival favourites in home country Australia, they have played in The Spiegeltent at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and
Adelaide Festivals along with The Sydney Opera House and have run a residency of garage cabaret at the most
respected jazz and blues club in Sydney, The Vanguard. A 2009 tour of the UK and Europe brought the band to the
international festival stage impressing punters from Edinburgh to Slovakia and everywhere in between. The Woodford
Folk Festival 09/10 added live music for the circus to Juke’s ever growing list of accomplishments and saw the band
bring in the new year on a high with their much talked about set.
On festival circuits, Juke & The Last Men Standing can usually be found running around in acoustic format. Amps,
drums and mics are replaced with mandolin, banjo, accordion, washboard and megaphones as the original hobo bankers
hit the streets in search of that elusive bar somewhere just over the horizon where there is never a call for last drinks and
their money is still worth something. The hobo band are a hit on the streets as they sing, dance and scream their way
into the hearts and pockets of the unsuspecting public.
Versatility and adaptability has been the key to the bands home grown success. Available in multiple formats through
cabaret, theatre, circus, street busking and roving and maintaining a foot in the doors of the rock, punk, gypsy, jazz,
blues and folk scenes, Juke Baritone & The Swamp Dogs are never too far around the corner and always a leap ahead
of the pack.
